26,496 Shares in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) Purchased by Benson Investment Management Company Inc.

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,708,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in AbbVie by 4,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 4.1% in the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of AbbVie by 4.0% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 14.7% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 7,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in AbbVie during the 2nd quarter worth about $149,000. 70.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $176.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $207.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.58.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.08. AbbVie had a return on equity of 244.01% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is an increase from AbbVie’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABBV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AbbVie to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded AbbVie from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partners upgraded AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AbbVie from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin K. Buckbee sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.24, for a total transaction of $310,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,751.92. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About AbbVie

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.